“second chances are given to prove yourself, so don’t think you're forgiven for your sins until then.”

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ꪩReplacementܝ ܝ

I collapsed on the floor, my hands still covering my ears. I didn’t have the capability to move my hands from my ears, I couldn’t stand hearing my hallucinations. The muscles of my whole body tightened and relaxed in rapid succession.

My heartbeat in my chest was pounding, banging, and it refused to slow. “Stop, go away, I don't want to hear all your shit,” my lips were pursed and trembling, my eyes staring at the floor unseeingly.

“I’m not a murderer, I will not be.” I started repeating my murmurs in a turbulent way. I felt sweat drench my skin and the overwelling feeling to run away and hide swept through my body. However, my legs didn't dare to lift me up. I shut my eyes and squeezed them, begging everything to end. 

A hand touched me, a hand of heaven. I jumped when I felt it on my shoulder at first, I thought it was the person in my head’s hand. A fearful shrill left my mouth, I was frantic with every single touch.

“Daisy, look at me,” I heard Peter’s voice ringing, it seemed like he wanted to distract my thoughts from my hallucinations, and focus on him. “It’s me, Peter.” Saying his name was tranquilizing. Wasn’t it mystifying? A stranger’s name assuaged me better than the people I live with.

I leisurely opened my eyes, the only thing I focused on was his hazel eyes. My milk chocolate edged with a deep forest green eyes glimmered with watery tears.

“Peter, he keeps saying I'm a murderer. Tell him I’m not, please.” I beg while the salty tears spilled from my eyes. I clutched his shirt in my fists and struggled to breathe.

“Will he listen to me if I told him?” His voice sounded bitter and tears filled his eyes.

“Aren’t you a therapist?! Do something! I'm tired.” I almost yelled in the hospital, while everyone was watching me with varying levels of pity. 

“You don’t want to remember. What shall I do Daisy?” A tear ran from his eye to his cheek.

Why was that man so emotional with me? Was he always like that with other patients too? 

I couldn’t tell, how would I know when I barely knew him. I was curious about him, every minute that passed between him and I made me question that bizarre man more and more.  

“I will not remember.” My cretinous determined mind spurn to hark back to the past childhood days.

A sigh left his lips, “You're really your mother’s daughter.” He stated and added a mumble that I couldn’t discern. 

I clenched my jaw and gave him a death glare. I loathed it when anyone mentioned that I am cognate with Sienna Emerson. “Okay, I’m sorry. You need to rest, come with me.” After he stood up, he held out a helping hand for me.

I grabbed his hand, I can’t deny that I felt safer with my hand in his. I felt that I would be protected in his hands more than anyone else, even more than Henry. It was a peculiar and mystifying feeling.

I got up and glanced sideways. Everyone was focused on me as if I’m the only one who was crook in that place. I detested myself for blowing up like a volcano around all those people.

Peter made me link my arm with his and kept glancing at me from time to time so he could make sure that I was okay. Those eyes when they caressed mine, made me become robust and untroubled. He gave me soothed me in a way that I’d never felt before. 

He took me to an empty seat and helped me to sit in the chair. It was at that moment that I realized why Liam had a harmonious life unlike me. He was charmed to have Peter Graham as a father while I desiderated to have a father like him; however, my fortune wasn’t like Liam Graham. My parents were abysmal, I postulated the rationale of why I rejected to cast my mind back to the accident day or before that day.

“Delilah,” I called out Delilah once I felt better. She anchored her attention on me before she steps toward me with Hannah and Liam beside her. “Explain,” I was glaring at her, she was the one standing here while Henry was between life and death in the operating room. She hung her head like a wilting flower, but I could tell she didn’t potentially stab him. 

“So, I don’t know if you know about this, but my father is in prison. It’s because he was accused of stealing from a bank…” She was fighting her tears while narrating what happened, I  could relate to what she said and I was convinced that it was rugged for her.

“Skip that part, the talkative gay told me that part already,” I didn’t yearn for making it more tough on her. As upset with her as I was, I wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.

She sniffed and wiped her rolling tears before she nodded quietly. She was silent for a second, trying to calm down before she could continue. “Yesterday, when we were heading home…Henry heard me take an alarming call with a guy--a drug dealer--about a debt left that my father didn’t give back.” She was sobbing. I’d never seen someone other than me sob like that. An ache formed in my stomach, I pitied her. I could help her, but she already stabbed the only friend I have.

“Ooff,” Liam's eyes widened with his reaction, he seemed shocked. His life was blissful toward others, although, I guess mine would be as well if I wasn’t mentally indisposed. I started to understand while she narrated that I wasn’t the only one whose life hated her, nope, life hated others too. 

“He offered to walk me home, I kept telling him not to and I begged, but he was determined…” She took a deep breath. “He walked me home, I went inside and I thought he left,” she bit her lower lip, her tears were out of control, and I searched the depth of her eyes, but they were full of tears.

“I found the man inside my house, he threatened me as he kept beating me. I had no one, I live alone. I took a knife from the kitchen and when I was about to stab him, Henry the one who showed up.” She was broken, head in hands and crying, it was dreadful. I hoped she would be able to sleep at night, knowing she would be chased by nightmares.

Liam pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. His shirt was soaked with her tears, she stayed between his arms for thirty minutes. With the passing time and nothing to distract me, my thoughts drifted to my mother. What if she had been in a similar situation as Delilah? When I started to sympathize with the woman, I shook my head and pushed all thought to the back of my mind.

The sound of a door opening forced us all to look to the restricted area of the hospital. The surgery was finished and the doctor sauntered toward us. His grinned to us and it was linked to a sigh, a relieved sigh. “The surgery went really well, Henry is now sleeping in his room.” He informed us before he walked away.

A genuine smile formed on my lips for the first time since going home, I knew the meaning of joy. Henry meant the world and more to me. 

I advanced toward his room before anyone else could, even his mother. I stayed in his room as if there was no other place to go and watched him for an hour. Although he was doing nothing but sleeping like a baby, my heart was pounding for him like he was awake and smiling his broad smile to me.

I held his hand and placed a soft kiss on it. “Daisy,” I heard his voice murmuring, my eyes sparkled at him and I smiled widely. 

“Henry! You're finally awake!” I wanted to hug him so tight, but I couldn't because he wasn’t in well enough condition. 

“I missed you,” he mumbled softly. 

“I missed you, even more, I was dying without you.” Tears glimmered in my eyes from joyousness.

“You can’t die now, I'm here with you.” I felt into dreamy silence for a moment.

“Is Delilah here?” He questioned. With that question, my smile faded. “Ah, Daisy…she deserves a second chance.” He understood me well.

A second chance. For me, giving someone a second chance was the most horrifying thing I could do. I knew for a fact that everyone deserves a second chance, but I also knew that some people are way too perfidious to trust them a second time.

I never put reliance on anyone, or maybe life didn’t educate me too. Reminder, my mom was a murderer and my dad may have raped his own child at such a young age. How do you expect me to have a belief in people when my own family was blasphemous.

I was still vacillating of my father, I didn’t want to believe the fact he raped me. I was wishing it would be a lie--that the whole life I’m living was a lie. 

Too lamentable, that only happened in movies and stories. Sadly, reality was stiffer than that. I was not negative, just stating the truth. Like the truth, I was facing at that moment. I liked Henry, not as my best friend but as a lover, I thought. Anyone in my place would expect to be into bad boys who keep hurting them and plays with them like dolls. In the end, bad boys never fall in love, it only happens in books.

However, that innocent hero in front of me was not in love with me. Yes, he was a hero of course. A hero for me and for others. Henry deserved to be called an ‘angel’. The fact he admired to help others made him a true angel, people like him became invisible nowadays. He was one of a kind, and I was proud to be in love with such a man, but it did hurt my heart to not be loved back.

“Daisy, I’m alright now. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.” His voice croaked, I recognized that he had put the ‘fine’ mask on his face, but the opposite had materialized in his tone.  

“Rest now, let’s talk about it later.” My gaze cruised his figure. His white skin made him resembled a vampire, I nibbled on my sore bottom. I compelled myself to hold back tears, I didn’t want to weep in front of him.

“Daisy,” my name was out of his mouth in the form of a whisper. I used to despise my name, the one who made me regarded for loving it and therefore gave it to me. In my childhood, I didn’t know the basis of loving it again. However, at seventeen I started to recognize my factual feeling. 

“Henry,” my eyes were glued to him. He lifted his hand to my cheek and caressed it. I felt the warmth of his hand on my face and my eyes ploddingly brush away. My heartbeat echoed in my ears, I never noticed how fast my heartbeat was before now. When I realized how loud my heartbeat was, I opened my eyes straightway. 

However, the heat still poured into my veins as if pumped in through a hypodermic needle. It was uncanny in this frosty weather. I felt compassionate toward his tranquil gaze at my face, his gaze toward me had a lot of denotation. We understood each other lucidly.

In spite of that, I couldn't understand his double-dealing earlier in school. I didn’t understand myself, how could I? Did jealousy make me visionless? Or my vexation? The answer avoided me, I’ll try another time.

Knocking sounded on the wood of the door before it opened and someone walked in. Here came the girl who got a second chance from Henry Blake. Bitterness crept into my face the moment my hazel eyes found the short brunette-haired girl. I was aware of the fact that she didn’t try to harm him. However, her presence still exasperated me.

“Delilah,” his eyes blazed like torches when they found her and he grinned widely. It felt like my heart was shattering into pieces as if it was glass. It felt like a blow to my whole body, and the ache has magnified the bruises under my clothes.

“Henry, I’m sorry.” Delilah’s sobbing reminded me of myself when I saw the blood in the bathtub. She was parallel to me in certain things, so I couldn't hate her for too long.

I got up from the bed, I didn't know why, but I felt like I ought to. “Come here,” Henry tapped on the spot I had just occupied. My seat will be replaced by her, and I was observing mutely. I bit my lip while moving to the edge of the room when she took my place as if it was hers, she sat eyeing him with frosty calm. Soon, she hadn’t stolen only my seat, but the warmth of his hand. His mushy warming hand was on her cheek, wiping the tears that were dripping from her puffy and bloodshot eyes.

“Hushh, it all passed, I’m alright.” He curved his mouth on a broad smile to manifest how fine he is despite the fact that he really wasn’t. I was able to discern his real smiles from the fakes, even from this distance, but Delilah couldn’t.

He grasped her hand and fixed his beautiful green eyes on hers. “It wasn’t your fault, and even if it was I would still forgive you.”

“But…” She sniffed, the tip of her nose was colored red.

“No, buts, I want you in my life from now on.” Jealousies and animosities prickled in my sluggish blood, tingling the moment he said that to her. “I want you even more than you think.” A bright light hovered in both of their gazes--love?

My legs started to liquify, I had to leave before I found myself on the ground. I ambled outside and glanced at Peter who was sitting there by himself. I took a seat next to him silently.

“Everything alright?” He questioned. 

“Do you believe in second chances?” I replied with a question.

“I do, everyone deserves to have a second chance, but they can not be trusted again. Even if they proved themselves, we shouldn't trust them completely again.” He answered firmly, and I liked his answer. 

“So, Delilah deserves one?” I arched my eyebrow gazing at him.

He nodded. “It was an accident, so yes.”

“So, my mom deserves one too?” I hoped he would say no, but he told me she had to and that she deserves that chance the most. 

“Was my dad a bad person?” I was only asking, I didn’t give any reaction or respond to his answers. He suddenly stayed quiet, he didn't answer, he just excused himself to leave. “Was he?” I pressed my lips together as I repeated my question. 

“Believe me, I don't really know if he was bad or if life was cruel…I still don't, but I know one thing: your mom did everything to protect you, and I will do the same.” He stated his thoughts out loud. “I will be leaving now, feel free to come by any time.” He tapped on my shoulder gently before leaving.

.  .  .

I lumbered across to the window with my arms crossed over my chest. It’s been a week since Henry went to the hospital and two days since I got my cast off. My sore arm was like an energetic ball. 

The bruises had faded away and no one knew what happened except Hannah, Liam, Peter, Jessie, and of course, the guys who did the beating.  I let out a sigh, a deep sigh that expressed a whole new level of tension.

I gazed up at the blue sky dappled by the clouds, it looked marvelous. I could keep staring at it for years and never get worn out. I wished for time to stop where my thoughts were free, just so my eyes could see the beauty of the sky. 

“I wish I wasn't human.” A wish that I wished once upon a time, to be any other creature than a human being. Us humans are petrifying, nerve-racking, and two-faced. For me, I didn't know who to trust anymore or who would stay by my side no matter what.

My eyes glanced at Peter’s house, just looking at it sent my body into an odd feeling of perplexed panic, almost like it couldn’t decide whether to be curious or terrified. Peter was unlike any man I met; he was perplexed and odd. 

The way he treated me was contradictory. He made me eager to know him, and his story. Despite the feeling of closeness that came with his name, I hadn’t gone to see him; I didn’t want to remember my past and I knew that seeing him would tempt my mind.

The past was scary, but my hallucinations never left me alone. 

“Maybe if you remembered, it will stop.” I calmed my thoughts to go to him with ‘maybe’. But if I began with ‘maybe’, then I may also not be able to stop my hallucinations and my nightmares.

I knew for a fact that I wasn't plucky, I was always in a corner and that was the difference between me and Delilah. I wouldn't be flabbergasted if he chose her and not me, who would want a girl who is buried and broken by her past?

No one.

“But, maybe he will like me if I became courageous.” Again, the ‘maybe’ thoughts dominated my mind. 

I took out my black leather jacket and wore it above my white t-shirt. I wore my white sneakers before I head out of the house, on my way to Peter’s.

I stopped walking when I spotted a girl coming out of the house. Her shoulder-length wheat blonde hair was gleaming when she stepped out of the light. Suddenly, my heartbeat became steady like a drummer when her hazel eyes met mine.

Her eyes were like a reminder of faded memory, everything was blurred in my head--I saw a child. This time was different, I saw joy, happiness, and a wide smile on baby-me. I took a step back, while she kept staring at me like a frozen person. 

Who the hell is she?

[A/N]: Do not forget to vote and comment your thoughts. Let me know if you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading qts.❤

Q.O.C: Do you ship Henry and Delilah or Daisy and Henry? And who do you think the girl that Daisy saw?

Next chapter is exciting! One of my favorites, stay tuned.